Introduction to Ecology

The meaning of the word

ecology was given by German
Biologist Hackle in 1869.
The word ecology is derived
from Greek words Oikos
meaning house, habitat or
place of living and Logos
meaning to study.
Ecology is defined as the
study of interrelationship of
different organisms with each
other and with their
environment. It is concerned
with the general principles
that apply to both animals
and plants.

Objectives of Ecological
Studies
It is important for humanity to understand its
environment because we have the ability to
modify the environment through the use of
technology, and through overexploitation of
natural resources as a result of greed or sheer
pressure of numbers. Therefore, ecology is more
than just the understanding of the
interrelationships between organisms and their
environment; it also has social, political,
economic and technological dimensions.
It also is a study of evolutionary development of
organisms, the biological productivity and energy
flow in the natural system.
To develop mathematical models to relate
interaction of parameters and to predict the
effects

Classification of Ecology
Based on study area :
1. Autecology : It deals with the study of an individual
species of organisms and its population. The
ecologists study the behavior and adaptations of
particular species to the environmental condition at
every stage of that individuals life cycle. It is also
called the Species ecology.
2. Synecology : It deals with the study of communities,
their composition, their behavior and relation with
the environment. It is also called as Ecology of
communities. It is further divided into 3 types : 1)
Population Ecology
2) Community Ecology
3) Ecosystem Ecology

Classification of Ecology
2. Based on Environment or habitat
1) Aquatic ecology : The study of interaction of organisms in the
water
1) Marine water ecology
i) Ocean
ii) Deep Sea
iii) Estuary
2) Freshwater Ecology
i) Letic (Running water)
a) River
b) Stream
c) Spring
ii) Lentic (Standing Water)
a) Pond
b) Lake

Fresh water river

Coral reefs

Classification of Ecology
2) Terrestrial Ecology : The study of interaction of organisms on
land :

a. Grassland Ecology
b. Forest Ecology
c. Desert Ecology

3. Based on Advancement in
the field of ecology
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.

Productive ecology
Population ecology
Community ecology
Ecosystem ecology
Microbial ecology
Radiation ecology
Pollution ecology
Space ecology

Forest
Ecology

Ecosystem
The term Ecosystem was
first proposed by A.G.
Tansley in 1935. he defined
it as the system resulting
from the interaction of all
the living and non living
factors of the Environment.
An ecosystem consists of
the biological community
that occurs in some locale,
and the physical and
chemical factors that make
up its non-living or abiotic
environment. There are
many examples of
ecosystems - a pond, a
forest, an estuary, a
grassland.

Various types of Ecosystem

Types of Ecosystem
1. Natural Ecosystems :

These operate under

natural conditions without
any major interference by
man.

i.

Terrestrial
Ecosystem : Forest,

grassland, desert, etc.

Lentic (standing water)

lake ecosystem

ii. Aquatic Ecosystem :

a.

b.

Fresh water : Lotic

(running water like
spring, stream, or
rivers) or Lentic
(standing water as
lake, pond, pools,
etc.)
Marine water : Such
as deep bodies as
ocean or shallow
ones as Sea or an
estuary.

Lotic (flowing water) river ecosystem

Types of Ecosystem
2. Artificial (Man
Engineered)
Ecosystems :
These are
maintained
artificially by man
where by addition
of energy and
planned
manipulation,
natural balance is
disturbed regularly
e.g., crop land
ecosystem.

Crop land
ecosystem

Components of Ecosystem

Components of Ecosystem
1. Abiotic

Consists of Non-living chemical & physical components

such as water, air, nutrients in the soil or water & Solar
Energy.
Physical & chemical factors that influence living organisms
in land (terrestrial) ecosystem & aquatic life zones.
Abiotic factors can act as LIMITING FACTORS that keep a
population at a certain level.

Abiotic Components are mainly of two types:

1) Climatic Factors:
which include rain, temperature, light, wind, etc.
2) Edaphic Factors:
which include soil, pH, Topography, Minerals, etc.

Components of Ecosystem
2. Biotic factors
All the living things that directly or indirectly affect the
ecosystem
biotic factors interact with other living organisms and the
physical environment can also beLimiting Factors ex.
disease (bacteria), predators, food resources.
Made up of biological components consisting of living and
dead plants, animals and microorganisms.
The Major Biological Components of Ecosystem :
a. Producers (Autotrophs)(self-feeders)
Make their own food from compounds that are obtained
from their environment.
Are the source of all food in an ecosystem.
On land most producers are green plants.
In freshwater and marine ecosystems, algae and plants are
the major producers near shorelines.
In open water, the dominant producers are phytoplankton
(most of them microscopic) that float or drift in the water.
Most producers capture sunlight to make carbohydrates
(such as glucose) by photosynthesis.

Components of Ecosystem
b. Consumers (Heterotrophs) (other
feeders)
Get their energy and nutrients by feeding on other
organisms or their remains.
i. Primary consumers : Are those that eat
producers (plants) as a source of food. They are also
known as herbivores.

ii. Secondary consumers or carnivores : Eat

other animals.

iii. Tertiary Consumers : Large Carnivores which

feed on secondary consumers.

iv. Quaternary Consumers : Largest Carnivores

that feed on tertiary consumers. They are not eaten
by any animals.

v. Omnivores : Have mixed diet that include both

plants and animals.

Components of Ecosystem
3. Decomposer :
Mostly certain types
of bacteria and fungi
are specialized
consumers that
recycle organic matter
in ecosystems.
They do this by
breaking down
(biodegrading) dead
organic material to get
nutrients and releasing
the resulting simpler
inorganic compounds
into the soil and water,
where they can be
taken up as nutrients
by producers.

Hydrological
HYDROLOGICAL
CYCLE
Cycle
Pictorial Representation of :

Definition & Description

Definition : The water from various moist surface evaporates and falls
again on the earth in the form of rains and snow and passes through
living organisms and ultimately returns to the ocean or water bodies.
This cycle is called as hydrological cycle.

Description : The hydrologic cycle involves the continuous circulation

of water in the Earth-Atmosphere system. At its core, the water cycle
is the motion of the water from the ground to the atmosphere and
back again. Of the many processes involved in the hydrologic cycle,
the most important are...

Evaporation
Transpiration
Condensation
Precipitation
Infiltration
Run-off

Carbon Cycle

The carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which

carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere,
geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the Earth.

Ecological Pyramids
Graphic
representation of
trophic structure &
functioning of
ecosystem starting
with producers at
the base &
successive trophic
levels forming the
apex

Pyramid Of
Numbers:

A pyramid of numbers is a
graphical representation of
the numbers of individuals in
each population in a food
chain. Often it is drawn from
the autotrophic level up. A
pyramid of numbers can be
used to examine how the
population of a certain species
affects another. Often, the
autotrophic level in a pyramid
of numbers is much larger
than any of the higher trophic
levels, and the numbers
decreases upon ascending the
pyramid. There are
exceptions, however. For
example, in a tree community,
a single tree could support
many different populations of
larger numbers.

Pyramid of Biomass:
Illustrates the amount of biomass in each trophic level
Biomass weight is determined after dehydration

Shows the amount

of matter lost
between trophic
levels.
Measured in Kg,
grams or pounds

Pyramid of Energy:
Shows the energy available at each trophic level.
The size of the blocks represents the proportion of
productivity
Measured in Joules or Calories

Trophic
Structure

All organisms in an ecosystem can be placed in trophic levels

depending on what energy source they rely upon and how
they provide energy for other organisms in the food web.
With the exception of life near hydrothermal vents in the
deep ocean, life is always dependent directly or indirectly on
the energy from the sun. In every ecosystem, there is an
organism at the lowest level that converts energy from the
sun into useable energy for other organisms.

Food Chain

Every organism needs to obtain energy in order to live. For example, plants
get energy from the sun, some animals eat plants, and some animals eat
other animals.
A food chain is the sequence of who eats whom in a biological community
(an ecosystem) to obtain nutrition

Food Web

A food web (or food cycle) depicts feeding connections

(what-eats-what) in an ecological community and hence is
also referred to as a consumer-resource system.
The food web is a simplified illustration of the various
methods of feeding that links an ecosystem into a unified
system of exchange.
Various food chains are often interlinked at different tropic
levels to form a complex interaction between different
species from the point of view of food.
Food Web provides more than one alternatives of food to
most of the organisms in an ecosystem and thus increases
their chances of survival.

Food Web

Example : Food Web of organisms residing in the soil ( Soil

Ecosystem)

Forest Ecosystem
They have a predominance of trees that are
interspersed with large number of species of herbs,
shrubs, climbers, lichens algae & a variety of wild
animals & birds.
Depending upon the climatic conditions forests can be
of different types :
1. Tropical Rain Forest
2. Tropical Deciduous forests
3. Tropical Scrub Forests
4. Temperate Rain Forests
5. Temperate Deciduous Forests
6. Evergreen Coniferous Forests

Desert an ecosystem found

where there is very little
rainfall.
They occur in regions where evaporation exceeds
precipitation (rainfall, snow, etc.)
Mainly two kinds of deserts:
Hot deserts
Cold deserts
Hot deserts
Temperatures are very warm all year round
The summers are very hot
Cold deserts
Short, warm summers
Long, cold winters
Found in places near the north and south poles

Desert Plants
Gila monster (lizard)

Main Components :
1. Desert Plants
2. Desert Animals
Camel

Roadrunner

Grass Land Ecosystem

A grassland ecosystem is an ecological unit that has physical factors like

water, soil and air, which help to establish that animals live there. The
plants, animals, microbes along with the water, soil and air they live in
help to create the ecosystem.
About 1.2 108 mi2 (4.6 107 km2) of the Earth's surface is covered
with grasslands, which make up about 32% of the plant cover of the
world.
Grasslands occur in regions that are too dry for forests but that have
sufficient soil water to support a closed herbaceous plant canopy that is
lacking in deserts.
Different kinds of grasslands develop within continents, and their
classification is based on similarity of dominant vegetation, presence or
absence of specific dominant species, or prevailing climate conditions.
1. Temperate grasslands
2. Tropical grasslands
3. Polar grasslands
Grassland Soils are highly fertile & contain large amount of
exchangeable bases & organic matter.

Estuaries
An estuary is a semi closed coastal body of water that has free
connection with sea.
An area in which fresh water from a river mixes with salt water
from the
ocean; a transition area from the land to the ocean.
Other names: bay, sound, lagoon, harbor, or bayou

The Ocean

Area where
fresh and salt
water mix
River bringing
freshwater to
the sea

Characteristics of Estuaries
Very nutrient rich ecosystems leads to high
productivity and high biodiversity.
There is a gradual increase in salinity as you go
from the river (0-5ppt) to the middle of the
estuary (5-25ppt), to the ocean (>25 ppt) .
ppt = parts per thousand
Sediment settles out in the estuary when the
water slows down.
Nutrients accumulates on the bottom (benthic
zone).
Pollutants are absorbed in estuaries.

Aquatic Ecosystem

An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem in a body of water.

Communities of organisms that are dependent on each other and
on their environment live in aquatic ecosystems
Aquatic Ecosystem can be further classified into :
1. Fresh water Ecosystem
- Pond Ecosystem : small bodies of freshwater with shallow and
still
water, marsh, and aquatic plants
- Lake Ecosystem : slow moving water like pools, ponds, and lakes.
- River Ecosystem : large streams flowing downwards from the
mountain highlands into the sea
2. Marine Ecosystem : cover approximately 71% of the Earth's
surface and
contain approximately 97% of the planet's water

Aquatic Ecosystem
Detailed information about aquatic system